(Nizhny Novgorod, October 29-30, 1999)

In 1999, the Department of the History of the Ancient World and the Middle Ages of the Lobachevsky Nizhny Novgorod State University celebrated its 25th anniversary. On the occasion of this anniversary, on October 29-30, 1999, the History Department of UNN hosted a conference dedicated to the problems of ancient and medieval studies. 14 reports were presented in the section of ancient history.

The work of the section was opened by S. K. Sizov (Nizhny Novgorod) 'Oiov ' Apcades': Aristotle and the Federative States of Greece', dedicated to the interpretation of a controversial passage from Aristotle's Politique (Polit. 2.1261 a. 24-30), in which the polis is contrasted with the simmachia and on the example of the Arcadians it is said about the difference between the polis and the ethnos. According to the speaker, the philosopher mentioned the Arkadians as an example of a special ethnic group, not a polis. However, an analysis of sources shows that Aristotle distinguished federations of poleis like the Arcadian Union from both ordinary poleis and nonpolitical state entities. Such unions in the political theory of the fourth century BC could well be considered as single states that had their own politics and united a number of polis, but this theory did not have a special term for them and, reflecting the realities of its era, it focused exclusively on the polis and did not connect the prospects of the hypothetical "a single polity of all the Hellenes" (Arist. Polit. 7.1327 B. 29 sq.) with the experience of imperfect federations of that time. N. A. Kasatkina (Nizhny Novgorod) in the report " Exploitation of land possessions on Euboea by Athenians in the V century. B.C." showed that the question of private land ownership of the Athenians on this island should be resolved in close connection with the information of ancient authors about its annexation. The private holdings of the Athenians on Euboea could hardly belong to clerks, but rather arose in that part of the land territory torn away from the allied policies, which became the state domain of Athens and could be leased, sold, etc. The origin of the institute of ostracism in Tauric Chersonesus in connection with the question of the date of foundation of this Northern Black Sea Apoikia was considered in the report of I. E. Surikov (Moscow) "Ostracism in Megara and Tauric Chersonesus". In his opinion, the Chersonesites, who practiced ostracism for at least the entire fifth century BC, borrowed this institution from their ancient metropolis - Megara (where, judging by the historical context, ostracism could have been established in the first half of the sixth century, possibly on the initiative of the local oligarchy), either directly or through through the Pontic Heraclea. The political struggle in the latter led to the removal of the colony to Chersonesos, which (if we date the third coming of Peisistratus to power in Athens and the purification of Delos to the period around 546) could have been founded around 540, simultaneously or almost simultaneously with Kallatis. The author's conclusion about the probability of this particular date of foundation of Chersonesus is confirmed by the materials of archaeological research in recent years. N. Y. Sivkina (Nizhny Novgorod) dedicated her speech to the events in Messenia in 216. This was the time when the oligarchic pro-Achaean government was overthrown as a result of clashes provoked by the Macedonian King Philip V. Based on the analysis of sources and interpretation of the political situation in Greece in the last decades of the third century BC, it is possible, in the author's opinion, to date this revolution to the end of 216, and not to the end of 215, as is customary in modern literature. The report of N. V. Moleva (Nizhny Novgorod) "Some results of archaeological research of the Kitei sanctuary" analyzed the materials of 25-year excavations of one of the most significant religious structures of the Bosporus and the entire Northern Black Sea region. This complex is a large ash hill with an area of at least 5 thousand ^m2 with a cultural layer of over

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12 m, it appeared together with the city of Kitey in the second half of the fifth century BC and existed continuously for nine centuries. The sanctuary had a multifunctional character and emphasized Chthonic significance, which is associated with the nature of the Bosporan religion, which developed under the influence of local (Scythian and Sarmatian) ideological traditions, especially in the ritual sphere. The Bosporan theme was continued by the report of A. R. Panov (Nizhny Novgorod), devoted to the status of the Bosporan kings in the first century BC-the first half of the first century AD. After analyzing the titulature, epithets, political and dynastic activities of the Bosporan rulers from Mithridates Eupator to Kotis I, the speaker noted that the process of strengthening their foreign policy dependence on Rome was quite slow. slowly, but rather methodically, it was completed by the middle of the first century AD.

A.V. Khazina (Nizhny Novgorod) in her report "The crisis of the Roman Republic and the historical and philosophical concept of Posidonius of Apamea" addressed the question of the founder of the concept that the crisis in Roman society was caused by the elimination of external danger (metus Punicus), which protected the state from internal division. Contrary to the opinion of those researchers who believed that this idea was expressed for the first time in the historical work of Posidonius, those researchers who believe that the idea itself was expressed long before Posidonius are closer to the truth, as the speaker believes. The author finds confirmation of this conclusion in the very teaching of Posidonius, whose views on history, including the history of the crisis of the Republic, were determined by the idea of universal "sympathy". Therefore, for Posidonius, it was the violation of the principle of unity of "sympathetic" ties-but not external factors-that caused the crisis phenomena in society. The problem of the conceptual foundations of ancient historiography and their changes since the beginning of the Christian era was considered in the report of I. Y. Vashcheva (Nizhny Novgorod) "Faces of fate in the "History" of Eusebius of Caesarea". She came to the conclusion that Eusebius, being strongly influenced by the pagan tradition and actively using the classical heritage, abandoned the key idea of Fate and Fate for ancient historiography, and used other Greek concepts in a reinterpreted form; the concept of Fate and Chance in his "Church History" gave way to a new principle that was better combined with the Christian worldview.,- God's Providence, which then firmly entered the consciousness of the Byzantines.

A number of reports addressed issues related to the military history of Rome. A. E. Markov (Nizhny Novgorod) considered in his report the political situation in Rome on the eve of the Battle of Cannae, focusing on the role of the consuls of 216 BC and the Senate, and came to the conclusion that it is incorrect to consider Varro and the "democratic party" as the absolute culprits of the defeat at Cannae. The very entry into the battle was caused by the political struggle in Rome and the need to maintain the authority of the allies. Apparently, Aemilius Paulus was not a principled opponent of the general battle, and the desire of Polybius and Livy to convince their readers of the opposite stems from the aristocratic historical tradition, which, idealizing the images of Aemilius and Scipio and wanting to hide the mistakes of the Senate, could shift all the blame to Varro. The report of V. N. Parfenov (Saratov) "Excavations in Kalkriz and the end of Roman rule in Germany" was devoted to the interpretation of the results of recent archaeological research in Westphalia. The nature of the materials obtained and their comparison with the data of narrative sources allow us to confidently connect the traces of a fierce battle that took place in the gorge near Mount Kalkrize with the defeat of the main forces of the army of Quintilius Varus in 9 AD during the anti-Roman uprising of the Germans. Thus, the Kalkriese - Nivedder defile and the area to the west of it can be identified as the site of the death of the Roman armed forces in Germany. In the report of A.V. Makhlayuk (Nizhny Novgorod) "Onasander's Strategikos and the ideology of military leadership in ancient Rome", the subject of analysis was the characteristics of the image of the ideal commander, expressed in the writer's treatise of the middle of the first century AD. Onasandra. A comparison of his judgments with the ideas of Roman authors about the complex of qualities necessary for a commander shows that the criteria for the moral character of a military leader formulated by him do not belong only to the sphere of pure abstraction; and although Onasander follows the old Greek authorities in a number of issues and ignores the actual Roman experience, his work reflects significant problems for the early imperial period.

V. M. Strogetsky (Nizhny Novgorod) made a presentation on "The most important areas of research in modern celtology". He described in detail the main concepts of Celtic ethnogenesis, the most controversial problems in the study of their culture, social relations and statehood, as well as modern views on the nature and degree of Greco-Roman influence on the development of Celtic society. One of the specific subjects of this topic was covered in the report of S. A. Domanina (Nizhny Novgorod) "Pax deorum and gutuatres of ancient Gaul". She focused on the controversial issue of the relationship between the Druidic religion and traditional Celtic religion. According to the author, the Guthatras, priests of traditional Celtic cults, were part of the Druid organization before the Roman invasion, but they diverged from the latter both in their social composition and in their interests. Therefore, the internal unity of the Celtic religion was not particularly strong, and with the beginning of the Roman conquest, a split occurred in the religious organization of the Celts: the Gutuatres took an emphatically anti-Roman position in the history of the Celts.

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the opposite of the druids ' conciliatory stance. When peace came to Gaul, the schism deepened further, as the Gutuatres accepted the pax deorum and began to join the ranks of the Gallo-Roman priesthood, while the druids, trying to preserve their power functions, found themselves in irreconcilable opposition to Rome.

Thanks to the collection of materials published during the conference, ¹ the participants were also able to get acquainted with the report " The Crisis of the Greek Polis in the IV century BC (towards a problem statement)", presented by V. G. Borukhovich (Saratov), who was unable to participate in the conference. The author of the report, describing the main symptoms and factors of the polis crisis, spoke out against too categorical views that deny, in particular, the tendency to landless peasants and in general the very concept of the polis system crisis, and stressed that the disintegration of tribal institutions and traditions, on the basis of which the Greek polis with its inherent "polis collectivism", contributed to individualization It was one of the most important signs of the deepening crisis and social destabilization in both aristocratic Sparta and democratic Athens.

At the final plenary session, Professor E. L. Molev, Head of the Department of the History of the Ancient World and the Middle Ages, made a speech. He summed up the results of the conference and elaborated on the history of the department, the results and prospects of its scientific work. Speaking about the work of the department in the field of studying and teaching classical subjects, E. A. Molev, in particular, pointed out the great role played in its formation by such well-known domestic specialists as V. G. Borukhovich, M. S. Sadovskaya, V. M. Strogetsky, S. K. Sizov, and noted that in recent years, the Department of Ancient Studies has been developing in Russia. it has become the dominant direction in the activity of the department. This activity was reflected in the regular publication of the interuniversity collection "From the History of Ancient Society", the publication of a large number of scientific and methodological works, the holding of representative scientific conferences, the defense of dissertations by members of the department (including three doctoral ones) both at the University of Nizhny Novgorod and at other leading universities in the country, and the training of specialists in the history of in the framework of master's and postgraduate studies, in the participation of teachers of the department in various scientific forums at home and abroad. Close ties and cooperation with St. Petersburg, Moscow and Saratov Universities, as well as with institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, undoubtedly played a significant role in the success of scientific research at the Department. Thus, the Department of the History of the Ancient World and the Middle Ages of the UNN Faculty of History has made a significant contribution to the national science of antiquity and is celebrating its anniversary as a mature research team that multiplies the traditions of its predecessors and has outlined prospects for its further development.

¹ Problems of Ancient and Medieval Studies (Dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Department of Ancient and Middle Ages History at the University of Nizhny Novgorod). Interuniversity collection of scientific papers. Nizhny Novgorod, 1999.

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